On 4 November 2014 20:49, Richard Symonds <richard.symonds(a)wikimedia.org.uk>
wrote:
I don't think this should be done by a formal
group of representatives
- in my experience committees aren't an amazing way of doing things like
this. The team who have been put together seem to be bright young things
and I have no doubt that they will do the best job they can - but I
think
that the first version can be improved with a lot more buy-in from the
rest
of the movement :-)
This.
The concept behind the 'finance fellows' is a great one: dedicated contact
people for the Chapters to help coordinate, standardise, streamline,
clarify the financial information among a variety of very diverse Wikimedia
Organisations.
Something like this is something that many people have wanted for a long
time. Newer or smaller chapters can feel 'left out' and overwhelmed by what
kind of information they need to report, when, how... especially for the
majority of Chapters that have no dedicated financial administration
professional.
However, by keeping the team's formation a secret, and not involving the
Chapters' financial staff in the conceptualisation stage (even as advanced
warning), does not start the concept off with good will. In fact, what
could/should have been a great day for the movement in helping to support
and coordinate its various parts, makes the very people who are going to be
working closest with the Finance Fellows (e.g. Richard, above) skeptical
and wary of being 'audited'. This is a great shame.